The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament closes Friday with a quartet of games, sending four through to regional finals in preparation for this weekend’s Elite Eight. The night’s matchups suggest a handful of interesting games, including one between conference foes.
2015 NCAA Tournament schedule: Duke, Gonzaga headline Sweet 16 finales Friday
The final eight teams of the 2015 NCAA Tournament will be decided Friday.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The night begins in the South Region on CBS at 7:15 p.m. ET with the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs and the No. 11 UCLA Bruins. Gonzaga, since its first Elite Eight run in 1999, has built a reputation for being one of the tournament's Cinderella teams.
The No. 2 Bulldogs play UCLA, a historic powerhouse, but perhaps the reluctant Cinderella of this year’s tournament. The Bruins were Selection Sunday’s near-unanimous selection as the team least-deserving of an at-large bid, yet they won their first two games in the tournament and will play Friday for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Two ACC opponents, the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals and No. 8 North Carolina State Wolfpack, tip off 7:37 p.m. on TBS to open the night's action in the East Region. The two played once during the season, and the Wolfpack went into Louisville's KFC Yum Center and stole a 74-65 win on Valentine's Day behind 21 points from sophomore guard Cat Barber.
The South Region's action concludes with a regional semifinal between the No. 5 Utah Utes and top-seeded Duke Blue Devils on CBS at about 9:45 p.m. Heading into the Big Dance, Utah was considered a team worthy of a better seed -- seven of its eight losses were to eventual NCAA Tournament teams -- and the Utes have a chance to prove it against the region's top seed. Utah is in its first NCAA Tournament since Larry Krystkowiak became head coach in 2011.
The final game of the Sweet 16 tips off at about 10:07 p.m. between the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 7 Michigan State Spartans. Oklahoma, the lowest seed left in the East Region, is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since Blake Griffin was on campus in 2009.
The full schedule is below.
South Region: No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. No. 11 UCLA Bruins, 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS
East Region: No. 4 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 8 North Carolina State Wolfpack, 7:37 p.m. ET, TBS
South Region: No. 1 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 5 Utah Utes, approx. 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS
East Region: No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 7 Michigan State Spartans, 10:07 p.m. ET, TBS
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